Twitter is not, like many tweeters think, a place to post what you’re doing all day long. At this weekend’s conference, Sree Sreenivasan, technology expert and dean of student affairs at Columbia School of Journalism, said Twitter is a place of business and a great place to have a 2-way connection with anyone. He said one of his students tweeted at Katie Couric and she replied. That would have never happened with an email or phone call. Twitter is powerful, so using it in the best possible way is important!

Below are great Twitter tips I learned at the Social Media Conference at Columbia from a variety of speakers. To see an example of a great Twitter user, check out Brian Stelter, @brianstelter, NY Times media reporter.

Sree’s Top 12 Tips

Spend time writing tweets, Sree takes 3-5 minutes to craft his tweets

Keep your followers in mind when you tweet (find out top followers on twiangulate.com)

Do not bore your followers, keep them happy so they continue to follow you

Make only 1 in 5 Tweets about yourself

Save the “humble brag” for Facebook

Make tweets blue, follow format “@someone, link, photo, #something” when you can

You can never follow enough people! But as soon as someone gets boring, unfollow them

Thought 140 characters was short? Make tweets 120 or less

Make username short so it’s easy to mention in tweets, and don’t use an underscore

Be generous, following someone is one of the nicest things to do on Twitter

Make your bio specific: include name so people will find you, say what you tweet (look at Stelter’s bio, very specific and informative)

Don’t just hit “retweet”, instead take the time to copy it then tweet: RT @originaltweeter (paste what they wrote). This way they will know you RTed them

Update your bio frequently as what your tweeting about changes, especially if you get a new job, from Melissa Mistal, @MaggieMistal, host of “Making a Living with Maggie” on Martha Stewart Living Radio

When looking for a job, there’s a difference between stalking and seeking! Don’t reply or mention potential employers excessively, from David Gaspin, @davidgaspin, Head of Talent Acquisition at TheLadders.com

Be open and friendly. Respond to people, thank them, mention them. Stelter always replies and his bio has all his contact information. (not necessary but definitely friendly), from David Gaspin

When tweeting, don’t forget all the rules journalists already follow. Check grammar and be ethical, from Serbino Sandifer-Walker, @sswalker, journalism professor at Texas Southern University

Have an interesting background on your Twitter page, put professional information in Twitter bio and something a bit personal, to add character from Mauricio, @rightmau, strategist at ROKKANmedia

Find a # that relates to your field and mention in in tweets to connect

Helpful lingo and sites, some taken from Shorty Awards “Short Tweet Guide” from Gregory Galant, @gregory, CEO/co-founder of Sawhorse Media